THE CITY OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT’S

POLICY STATEMENT REGARDING

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH

PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD
OF HEARING

OVERVIEW

It is the
policy of this law enforcement agency (Agency) to ensure that a consistently
high level of service is provided to all community members, including those who
are deaf or hard of hearing. This Agency
has specific legal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and
the Rehabilitation Act. To carry out
these policies and legal obligations, the Agency instructs its officers and
employees as follows:

People who identify
themselves as deaf or hard of hearing are entitled to a level of service
equivalent to that provided others.

The Agency will make every
effort to ensure that its officers and employees communicate effectively with
people who have identified themselves as deaf or hard of hearing.

Effective communication
with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing involved in an incident -- whether
as a victim, witness, suspect, arrestee, or other persons connected to the
situation -- is essential in ascertaining what actually occurred, the urgency
of the matter, and the specifics of the situation.

Various
types of communication aids – known as “auxiliary aids and services” – are used to communicate with people who are
deaf or hard of hearing. These include
use of gestures or visual aids to supplement oral communication; an exchange of
written notes; use of a computer or typewriter; use of assistive listening
devices (to amplify sound for persons who are hard of hearing); or use of
qualified oral or sign language interpreters.

The type of aid that will
be required for effective communication will depend on the individual’s usual
method of communication, and the nature, importance, and duration of the
communication at issue.

In many circumstances,
oral communication supplemented by gestures and visual aids, an exchange of
written notes, use of a computer or typewriter, or use of an assistive listening
device may be effective. In other
circumstances, qualified sign language or oral interpreters are needed to
communicate effectively with persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. The more lengthy, complex, and important the
communication, the more likely it is that a qualified interpreter will be
required for effective communication with a person whose primary means of
communication is sign language or speech reading. For example:

– If there has been an incident
and the officer is conducting witness interviews, a qualified sign language
interpreter may be required to communicate effectively with someone whose
primary means of communication is sign language.

–
If a person is asking an officer for directions to a location, gestures
and an exchange of written notes will likely be sufficient to communicate
effectively and a sign language interpreter is often not required.

To serve each individual
effectively, primary consideration should be given to the communication aid or
service that works best for that person.
Officers must ask persons who are deaf or hard of hearing what type of
auxiliary aid or service they need.
Officers must defer to those expressed choices, unless there is another
equally effective way of communicating, given the circumstances, length,
complexity, and importance of the communication, as well as the communication
skills of the person who is deaf or hard of hearing.

The Agency is not required
to provide a particular auxiliary aid or service if doing so would fundamentally
alter the nature of the law enforcement activity in question, or if it would
cause an undue administrative or financial burden. Only the Agency head or his or her designee
may make this determination.

The input of people who
are deaf or hard of hearing who are involved in incidents is just as important
to the law enforcement process as the input of others. Officers must not draw conclusions about
incidents unless they fully understand -- and are understood by -- all those
involved, including persons who are deaf
or hard of hearing.

Auxiliary aids or services
are to be provided free of charge.

ON-CALL INTERPRETER
SERVICES

The Agency will maintain a
list of sign language and oral interpreting services that are available
(on-call 24 hours per day) to provide qualified interpreters as needed. Each of these services will be chosen after
having been screened for the quality and skill of its interpreters, its
reliability, and other factors. The
Agency will update this list annually.

A qualified sign language
or oral interpreter is one who is able to interpret effectively, accurately,
and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary
specialized vocabulary. Accordingly, an
interpreter must be able to sign to the deaf individual (or interpret orally to
the person who does not use sign language) what is being said by the hearing
person and to voice to the hearing person what is being signed or said by the
deaf individual. The interpreter must be
able to interpret in the language the deaf person uses (e.g., American Sign
Language or Signed English) and must be familiar with law enforcement terms and
phrases. Because a qualified interpreter
must be able to interpret impartially, a family member, child, or friend of the
individual who is deaf may not be qualified to render the necessary
interpretation because of factors such as professional, emotional, or personal
involvement, or considerations of confidentiality. Additionally, although a “qualified”
interpreter may be certified, a certified interpreter is not necessarily
“qualified,” if he or she is not a good communications match for the deaf
person (e.g., where the deaf person uses Signed English and the interpreter
uses American Sign Language) or the situation (e.g., where the interpreter is
unfamiliar with law enforcement vocabulary).
Certification is not required in order for an interpreter to be
“qualified.”

TTY AND RELAY
SERVICES

In situations when a
nondisabled person would have access to a telephone, officers must provide
persons who are deaf or hard of hearing the opportunity to place calls using a
text telephone (TTY, also known as a telecommunications device for deaf people,
or TDD). Officers must also accept telephone
calls placed by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing through the
Telecommunications Relay Service.

TECHNIQUES FOR
OFFICERS TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

Officers must review and
have a working knowledge of Guide for Law
Enforcement Officers When In Contact With People Who Are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing. This document reviews how
officers should communicate effectively in the types of situations officers
will encounter. These situations
include:

– Issuing a noncriminal or motor vehicle
citation.

– Communicating with a person who initiates
contact with an officer.

– Interviewing a victim or critical witness to
an incident.

– Questioning a person who is a suspect in a
crime.

– Making an arrest or taking a person into
custody.

– Issuing Miranda
Warnings to a person under arrest or in custody.

– Interrogating a person under arrest or in
custody.

TYPES OF AUXILIARY AIDS AND SERVICES

Officers must utilize the
following auxiliary aids as appropriate, when available, to communicate
effectively: